Beach Volleyball: History and Gameplay

• Beach volleyball is played by two teams on a sand court divided by a net.
• Each team has three hits to return the ball, including the block touch.
• The objective is to send the ball over the net and ground it on the opponent's side.
• Teams score a point by winning a rally, known as the Rally Point System.
• The receiving team gains a point and the right to serve when they win a rally.
• The serving player must be alternated every time a team earns the serve.

History

• Beach volleyball likely originated on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii.
• In 1915, George David Center played volleyball with friends on the sand and set up a net for six-versus-six games.
• Most accounts credit Santa Monica, California as the sport's origin, where the first volleyball courts were established.
• Five more clubs were established in California by 1927.
• The first official two-man beach volleyball tournament was organized in Santa Monica by Bernie Holtzman, with no prize money.
• Southern California was designated as the origin of beach volleyball.
• The connection between the sport, entertainment, sex appeal, and marketing led to the rise of "beachmania."
• The California Beach Volleyball Association released its first regulations in 1965.
• Standardization of rules was required to ensure the quality of the sport.
• Beach volleyball has been an Olympic sport since the 1996 Summer Olympics.
• Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) is the international governing body.
• FIVB organizes the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships and the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.
• By 1998, the sport was included in multi-sport events like the Pan American Games and Central American Games
• In 2001, the FIVB began organizing annual FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championships, followed by the U19 World Championships.

Basic Skills

• Service Types include: Underhand, Sidearm, Overhand
• Dig Pass
• Block
• Spike/Attack
• Miscellaneous Pass
• Fall, Roll, and Dive
• Setting
• Overhand Pass/Palm

Standardized Facility and Equipment

Ball

• Spherical and made of flexible material like leather or synthetic leather.
• The material shouldn't absorb moisture and should be suitable for outdoor conditions.
• Synthetic leather material must be approved by FIVB.
• Color: Light uniform color or a combination of colors.
• Circumference: 66 to 68 cm
• Weight: 260 to 280 g
• Inside pressure: 0.175 to 0.225 kg/cm2

Court

• The playing area includes the playing court and the free zone, and is rectangular and symmetrical.
• Dimension: 16 x 8 m, surrounded by a free zone of at least 3 m wide on all sides.
• The free playing space above the playing area is free from obstructions and measures at least 7 m in height.
• The surface is composed of leveled sand, free of rocks, shells, and anything that could cause injuries.
• All lines are 5 cm wide and contrast sharply with the color of the sand.
• Boundary lines consist of two sidelines and two end lines, placed inside the playing court dimensions.
• Court lines are ribbons made of resistant, soft, flexible material.
• Zones and Areas: The service zone is an 8 m wide area behind the end line, extending to the edge of the free zone.

Net

• Placed vertically over the middle of the court.
• The top is set at 2.43 m for men and 2.24 m for women, measured from the center of the playing court.
• The net height must be the same over the two sidelines and not exceed the official height by more than 2 cm.

Antennae

• Flexible rod, 1.80 m long and 10 mm in diameter, made of fibreglass or similar material.
• Fastened at the outer edge of each side band.
• Placed on opposite sides of the net.

Side Vertical Markers

• Two colored bands, 5 cm wide and 1 m long.
• Fastened vertically to the net directly above each side line.

Other Equipment

• Flag lets: Used to signal if the ball is in or out.
• Score sheet: Used to record the scores of the teams.

Terminologies

• Attack/Spike: An offensive team attempting to score by hitting the ball at or above net level, driven downward.
• Block: Players near the net intercepting the ball from the opponent by reaching higher than the net.
• At the moment of contact with the ball, a part of the body must be higher than the top of the net.
• Dead Ball: Play stops from the referee's whistle.
• Foul: Violation of the rules.
• Stepping on the end line.
• Outside: The ball is out when:
  • It falls on the ground completely outside the boundary lines.
  • Touches an object outside the court, or a person out of play.
  • Touches the antennae, ropes, posts, or the net itself outside the side bands.
  • Crosses completely the lower space under the net.
• 4 hits/touches: A team hits the ball four times before returning it.
• Double Contact: A player hits the ball twice in succession or the ball contacts various parts of their body in succession.
• Touching the net.
• Holding
• Overreaching
• 8 seconds violation
• Game: Called as the end set when one team reaches 21 points.
• Holding: Ball momentarily stops at the hands or arms of the player.
• Dig Pass: Batting a ball to a teammate.
• Service: Act of putting the ball into play.

Rules of Beach Volleyball

• Players can touch the ball a maximum of three times before returning it across the court, including blocks.
• Illegal moves and hits include “hand touches”, “tips”, and “dinks”.
• Players can cross below the net, but it is a foul if it tampers or interferes with the opposing team's play.
• Players can move to any part of the court on their side

Duties and Responsibilities of Officiating Officials

Referee

• Implements the rules of the game and directs it.
• Has authority over other officials.
• Decide any matters involving the game.
• Issue warnings and sanctions to the players.

Umpire

• Assists the referee.
• Controls the work of the scorer.
• Supervises players in the bench and reports misconduct.
• Controls the number of timeouts and substitutions.
• Checks player positions according to the line-up sheet.
• Assists the referee in all contacts of the ball under the net/antenna.

Scorer

• Fills up the information of the team members in the score sheet.
• Records points scored by both teams.
• Monitors servers and informs the referee if they committed a violation.
• Records team substitutions and timeouts.

Linesmen

• Indicates if a ball is in or out of the court.
• Informs the referee if players received an “out” ball.
• Monitors if the ball touches the antenna.
• Monitors players outside the court while the other player is serving.

Scoring System

• Beach volleyball matches are best of 3 sets played to 21 points, with 15 points for adeciding set
• Teams switch ends of the court every seven points to avoid advantage due to environmental factors.

Differences Between Indoor Volleyball and Beach Volleyball

Court sizes

• Indoor courts: 18m x 9m, with a parallel attack line 3m from the center line.
• Beach courts: Smaller at 16m x 8m with no attack line.

Balls

• Indoor volleyballs: Made of leather, heavier for power play.
• Beach volleyballs: Softer, lighter, slightly bigger for floating in the air.

Players Per Side

• Indoor volleyball: Six per side with specialized positions, complex rotations and switches throughout games.
• Beach volleyball: Typically played with doubles, no specialized positions, beach players are well-rounded

Scoring

• Indoor volleyball: A match consists of five sets, the first team to reach 25 points wins, the tiebreaker is played to 15
• Beach volleyball: Match scored best-of-three game, each game played to 21, tiebreaker to 15

Explore the basics of beach volleyball, including court setup, hitting rules, and scoring. Learn about the sport's origins, tracing its development from Waikiki Beach to Santa Monica, California, where the first official tournaments were held.